Share this Story

Which Branch of the Armed Forces Is Most Important?

by Frank Newport

Army, Air Force, and Marines tied in importance

GALLUP NEWS SERVICE

PRINCETON, NJ -- The U.S. Army and the Marine Corps are now tied
with the Air Force as Americans' choice as the most important
branch of the United States' armed forces, with the Navy and the
Coast Guard far behind. This represents a significant change in the
perceived importance of the branches from as recently as two years
ago, when the Air Force was seen as the most important branch. At
the same time, the Marine Corps has maintained its dominant
position as the most prestigious branch of the service, and
is named by more than twice as many Americans as any other armed
forces branch.

Ground Forces Gain Ground as Most Important

As far back as the 1940s and 1950s, Gallup Polls showed that
Americans were overwhelmingly most likely to name the Air Force as
the branch of service most vital to the nation's defense.

In July 1949, the Air Force was chosen by 84% of Americans when
asked: "If the United States should get into another World War,
which branch of the Armed Forces do you think would play the most
important part in winning the war?"

In August 1951, with the United States in the middle of the
Korean War, the Air Force still came in No. 1, with 70% of
Americans saying it was the "most important." The Army was far
behind at 14%.

In October 1960, just before the presidential election that
pitted two former Navy officers -- John F. Kennedy and Richard M.
Nixon -- against one another, 62% of Americans chose the Air Force
as the most important branch of service.

This primacy of the Air Force persisted in more recent years
when Gallup once again began asking Americans about the armed
forces branches, albeit in slightly different form.

In May 2001, Gallup asked Americans which of the branches of the
armed forces they considered to be "most important to the national
defense" today. The Air Force was overwhelmingly the most likely to
be named, chosen by 42% of Americans, well over twice as many as
named the Army (18%), the Navy (15%), and the Marines (14%). (The
Coast Guard, at that time part of the Department of Transportation
except in times of war, was not included in the 2001 list, but has
been included in the years since.)

In April 2002, the response pattern was basically the same. The
Air Force was again No. 1, with the Army, Navy, and Marines far
behind.

But this year, the May 21-23 poll found a significantly
different pattern of perceived importance. Both branches of the
armed forces whose primary mission is on the ground -- the Army and
the Marine Corps -- have become more likely to be mentioned as the
most important, while the Air Force and the Navy have slipped. The
result: The Army, Air Force, and Marines are now tied as the most
important branches of the service, with the Navy and Coast Guard
substantially less likely to be chosen.

Most Important Branch of the U.S. Armed
Forces?

This year's survey shows a seven-point increase (since 2002) for
both the Army and the Marine Corps in the number of Americans who
see each of these as the most important branch of the service. At
the same time, there has been a 13-point drop for the Air Force
since 2002, and an 8-point drop for the Navy.

It is almost certain that the intense focus on the role being
played by the Army and the Marines in the current conflict in Iraq
is the primary reason for the change in perceived importance of the
branches. Most of the news coverage of the war has focused on
ground soldiers -- dressed in their characteristic camouflage
uniforms -- wielding rifles and other infantry weapons as they go
about their duties in that country. Most of the casualties of the
war have been ground soldiers, and the primary high-ranking
officers who have high visibility in Iraq are in the Army.

The Army has suffered negative publicity from its involvement in
the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, but if nothing else, the
prison situation focused even more attention on the major role the
Army is playing in Iraq.

Although Air Force and naval aircraft were a big part of the
initial "shock and awe" campaign that kicked off the Iraq war in
March 2003, the visibility given the role of air (or sea) power has
been low as the war has dragged on over the past year.

Most Prestigious

There is a difference in the way in which Americans see the
importance of the branches of the armed forces and their prestige.
Each of the three times Gallup has asked Americans to name the
branch with the most prestige, the Marine Corps has been the
overwhelming winner. That pattern persists this year.

Most Prestigious Branch of the U.S. Armed
Forces?

This year, 44% of Americans say that the Marine Corps is the
most prestigious service branch. That's the highest since 2001, and
the Marine Corps remains far ahead of any other branch on this
prestige dimension. But the percentage mentioning the Air Force as
most prestigious has dropped from 32% in May 2001 -- just four
points less than mentioned the Marines that year -- to 20% this
year.

Additionally, despite its gain in perceptions as the most
important branch, there has been little change in views of the Army
as most prestigious. It was chosen by 11% of Americans in 2001, 13%
in April 2002, and 15% this year. The Coast Guard is up to 5%,
while the Navy has fallen to 8%.

There are few dramatic differences by age in views of the
prestige of the armed services branches, although the Marine Corps
is significantly more likely to be chosen as most prestigious by
men than by women.

Survey Methods

These results are based on telephone interviews with a randomly
selected national sample of 1,002 adults, aged 18 and older,
conducted May 21-23, 2004. For results based on this sample, one
can say with 95% confidence that the maximum error attributable to
sampling and other random effects is ±3 percentage points.
In addition to sampling error, question wording and practical
difficulties in conducting surveys can introduce error or bias into
the findings of public opinion polls.

22. Just off the top of your head, which of the five branches
of the Armed Forces in this country would you say is the most
prestigious and has the most status in our society today --
[ROTATED: the Air Force, the Army, the Navy, the Marines, (or) the
Coast Guard]?

BASED ON --506-- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM A

Air Force

Army

Navy

Marines

Coast Guard

SAME (vol.)

No
opinion

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

2004 May 21-23

20

15

8

44

5

5

3

2002 Apr 22-24

28

13

13

39

1

4

2

2001 May 18-20 ^

32

11

14

36

--

4

3

^

WORDING: Just off the top of your head, which of the four major
branches of the Armed Forces in this country would you say is the
most prestigious and has the most status in our society today --
[ROTATED: the Air Force, the Army, the Navy, (or) the Marines]?

23. Just off the top of your head, which of the five branches
of the Armed Forces in this country would you say is the most
important to our national defense today -- [ROTATED: the Air Force,
the Army, the Navy, the Marines, (or) the Coast Guard]?

BASED ON --496-- NATIONAL ADULTS IN FORM B

Air Force

Army

Navy

Marines

Coast Guard

SAME (vol.)

No
opinion

%

%

%

%

%

%

%

2004 May 21-23

23

25

9

23

4

12

4

2002 Apr 22-24

36

18

17

16

1

10

2

2001 May 18-20 ^

42

18

15

14

--

9

2

^

WORDING: Just off the top of your head, which of the four major
branches of the Armed Forces in this country would you say is the
most important to our national defense today-- [ROTATED: the Air
Force, the Army, the Navy, (or) the Marines]?

Slightly more Americans agree (52%) than disagree (45%) that the federal government is responsible for making sure all Americans have healthcare coverage. This balance of views is similar to last year.

Americans' daily self-reports of spending averaged $98 in November, up from $93 in October. The latest figure is the highest average recorded for the month of November since Gallup began tracking consumer spending in 2008.